Page 22 of This Feeling
“Declan!”
Turning at the sound of my name, I grinned when I saw Kian Carter. I made my way through the crowd and stopped at their table. Kian stood, gave me a quick bro hug and pat on the back, and James followed.
“Shit, it’s good seeing you, man,” James said as he slid back onto his stool. “It’s been what…ten years?”
Nodding, I replied, “At least. Longer for you, Kian.”
Kian had been a year behind me in school, but we’d all grown up with each other. We played football and baseball together, and our younger brothers despised one another. I never knew why, and I don’t think Kian did either.
“Yeah, probably since high school. Right? You went right into the Marines, and then I think you came home once or twice before I graduated and headed to college.”
I shook my head. “And now you’re back home and no longer a lawyer.”
He smiled. “Nope. Home and writing a book.”
“That’s great, man. I’m glad to see you’re doing whatyouwant, not what your parents wanted.”
Kian held up his beer. “Amen.”
The waitress walked up and set a cocktail napkin in front of me. “What can I get you?”
I pointed to Kian’s beer. “I’ll have the same.”
“Anything to eat?”
“No, thank you.”
Turning back to the table, I glanced at Gavin. The gangly boy I remembered had grown into a full-fledged man. A good-looking dude, actually. His brown eyes were light in color, and his brown hair was cut short on the sides, a little bit longer on top. He definitely wasn’t a kid anymore. “Jesus, the last time I sawyou, you had pimples all over your face and you followed us everywhere.”
Gavin laughed.
James ruffled his brother’s hair. “Now he’s one of Moose Village’s most eligible bachelors.”
Gavin shoved his brother’s hand away and snorted. “Hardly.”
“How old are you now, Gavin?” I asked, nodding my thanks to the waitress when she set down my beer.
“Twenty-eight.”
I whistled. “Still a baby. I bet you got carded when you walked in.”
“So did I,” James said.
When I glanced at Kian, he shook his head. “She didn’t ask for my ID.”
I leaned back in my chair, feeling a bit better.
“You mentioned you found a place to rent?” James said.
Nodding, I took a swallow of my beer and set it down. “Yeah, Brystol Duggan is letting me rent the apartment above the toy store. Does she own the store now? I didn’t get a chance to ask her.”
Gavin groaned and rolled his eyes, as James laughed.
“What?” I asked, confused.
James grinned and said, “First, her mother passed it over to her when she decided to retire. And second, Gavin and Brystol are archenemies.”
Putting my attention on Gavin, I raised a brow. “What now?”
